By Lynn Scarlett, Global Managing Director for Public Policy, The Nature Conservancy For the average U.S. consumer, electricity is an unremarkable fact of their existence—when they flip the switch, the light comes on. But behind that simple act is a feat of forecasting, engineering, logistics and timing that is mind-bogglingly complex. At the heart of this process is the mix of generation sources—the different electric power plants…

By Lynn Scarlett, Global Managing Director for Public Policy, The Nature Conservancy Dr. Robert Ballard, the celebrated explorer most famous for discovering the wreckage of the Titanic, lives for the moments when something critical he thinks he knows about the world is shown to be wrong—like the day he and his team went in the…

As parents we many times feel overwhelmed with all the advertisements and options for buying young kids the best presents. How can you find something that will be fun for kids, while helping them grow in educational and productive ways? As the father of a new baby girl, I’ve realized how difficult these questions can…

Growing up, I was obsessed with Indiana Jones—and today, I’m lucky enough to be an archaeologist who digs regularly in Egypt. Now, I get to help others live out the dream with GlobalXplorer. Here are some of their stories.

“We have a different kind of Silicon Valley here,” Nawneet Ranjan explains. Founder of the Dharavi Diary: Slum and Rural Innovation Project, Ranjan tells how his students use storytelling, technology, and the power of their diversity to raise awareness and develop solutions for issues facing the Dharavi slum community in Mumbai, India.

“Wildlife rangers now have the help they’ve desperately needed.” says Colby Loucks, WWF’s wildlife crime technology lead. “This groundbreaking technology allows them to search for poachers 24 hours a day, from up to a mile away, in pitch darkness. It’s upping the game in our fight to stop wildlife crime across the region.”

Here at the CITES conference in Johannesburg, almost anyone can tell you that African elephants are being slaughtered at a rate of tens of thousands per year. There are lots of approaches on how to solve the problem: reducing demand for ivory, providing alternative livelihoods for would-be poachers, training anti-poaching units—and forensics.

Sam Wasser of the University of Washington uses DNA testing to identify where the ivory confiscated in major seizures comes from. This makes it easier to know where law enforcement and anti-poaching efforts should be concentrated.

In 2007 a student ecologist walked out across the African savannah, armed with a clipboard and a ballpoint pen. They were off to record evidence of the presence of different grazers in the landscape. In 2012 that same ecologist set off again to monitor the impact of grazers in different habitats. This time though it…

This post is the latest in the Drones and Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Special Series, which profiles interesting information, thoughts and research into using drones, UAVs or remotely piloted vehicles for journalism and photography, that Kike learns about during his travels. WASHINGTON – The Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration recently proposed a framework of regulations that would allow routine use of certain small…

Sponsor Content: This content is brought to you by Purina Better With Pets. When Dan Smith went to work at Purina in St. Louis 27 years ago, he thought, “I’ve always had pets; this’ll be fun.” After he had spent some time at the company in the research and development division, he realized he had found…

Sponsor Content: This content is brought to you by Purina Better With Pets. As the Purina Better With Pets host John Hockenberry said, “she’s a little intimidating.” Fourteen-year-old Brooke Martin is an award-winning inventor from Spokane, Washington, an honor student, the head of a company, and, not incidentally, a poised and passionate speaker. She introduced herself…

National Geographic Voices

Researchers, conservationists, and others share stories, insights and ideas about Our Changing Planet, Wildlife & Wild Spaces, and The Human Journey. More than 50,000 comments have been added to 10,000 posts. Explore the list alongside to dive deeper into some of the most popular categories of the National Geographic Society's conversation platform Voices.

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Fighting Wildlife Crime: The Unsung Heroes

Journalist and National Geographic Fellow Bryan Christy uses investigative journalism to expose illegal wildlife trafficking around the globe. In this video he introduces a a series of interviews with the people fighting wildlife crime on the front lines.

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